John Gilbert

Tech Editor, Street Rodder

John Gilbert was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley deeply immersed in the SoCal car culture. Throughout grammar and junior high school John was constantly in trouble for drawing flames on his schoolwork, and automobile-related incidents during high school.
Graduating mid-term from West Covina High School, John opened a custom paint shop and established lifelong friendships with the editors of the magazines his customizing work appeared in. In 1999, John was commissioned by Easyriders Inc. to create a custom truck lifestyle magazine in the spirit of Easyriders. John titled the hard-core truck rag Tailgate, marking the beginnings of his career as a magazine editor.

Citing creative differences, John resigned from Tailgate in 2004 and went to work for Hot Rod Bikes, followed by the editorship of Custom Classic Trucks. In late 2009, John resigned from Custom Classic Trucks expressing a desire to goof off, and freelanced as the editor of the once-a-year American Truck magazine.